What We Do

Extensitech is a business consulting and custom software development company. We help organizations get the most out of their technology and their data.

“That’s nice,” you might say. “But why would I need Extensitech?”

You Have a Lot to Keep Track of

Whatever business you’re in, this is a fact.

Do you have enough inventory? Who do you need to call today?  Are there invoices that need to go out? Are your customers satisfied? How many new customers did you add last year? Do you have orders that need to ship today? How much is shipping costing you? Are your vendors overcharging you? What’s the next thing you need to do for each of your ongoing projects?

Regardless of what business you are in, someone – your customers, your employees, your co-workers – is relying on you to keep track. How do you keep track of all that’s going on in your business?

Some businesses are lucky. For them, there’s software they can buy off the shelf that’s made to keep track of every aspect of their business.

Not every business came out of a cookie cutter, though. Small and medium-sized organizations, especially, address unique needs that Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and Apple have never even heard of. Even if they have, they probably don’t understand the unique and innovative things you do that set you apart from your competitors. So if you’re not one of the lucky ones, how do you keep track?

Many smaller businesses just try to get along with whatever they can get their hands on. They find some software that’s “close enough”, and then fight with it day in and day out. They end up with a calculator and sticky notes sitting right next to their keyboard, because they can’t rely on their computer software to track what needs to be tracked, or figure out what needs to be figured out. Some manage with generic, off-the-shelf programs like their email and spreadsheets, and just hope no one forgets to set reminders, or update the right spreadsheet. Some just try to keep track in their heads.

Extensitech can help you do it better.

Corral Your Data

As you grow your business, it doesn’t take long before the things you have to keep track of get out of hand. Even the smallest business generates tons of information. It’s often too much to remember even before the second employee gets hired. Things start to fall through the cracks, and you can be sure your customers notice.

The first thing you need is to get that information into one place, so that you and your employees can keep track. You need one place you can go to find out where you stand, and figure out what needs to happen next.

It’s not enough to keep track of your own information, either. You need to be able to share that information with your team. If you’re out of work for a day, your customers don’t all take the day off, too. Someone else needs to know what’s going on.

A good software solution gives you a single place to keep track of things you’re doing, and also the things your team is doing. You shouldn’t need to go ask a co-worker, or check the filing cabinet, or try to find some email that you think you saw last week sometime.

Manage Your Workflow

Along with the information itself, you have to have a plan for what to do about it. You have policies and rules to make sure you’re getting things done and taking care of business. Those policies and rules are different from organization to organization, but they’re always there in some form or another.

Your policies make you efficient. Maybe your policy is that invoices go out within one day of an order being shipped. Maybe your policy is that every customer gets a call at least once a month. Perhaps your project has a deadline and certain things have to be done before that deadline approaches, or even before that.

Your rules make you effective. A rule might be that any customer without a tax ID on file has to have taxes added to every invoice. Another rule might be that a contract price can’t be less than 110% of cost. It may be that you can’t schedule a meeting unless you’ve reserved a conference room.

Regardless of the particular policies or the particular rules, you need a way to make sure you and your team are getting things done, done right, and done at the right time. Those policies and rules are what makes your organization efficient and effective. When it comes to being a successful organization, “I forgot” isn’t good enough; not for you, and certainly not for the people and companies you serve.

A good software solution “knows” what those policies and rules are. If you’re doing something that goes against those rules or policies, it should let you know, if it lets you do it at all. If you’re not doing something that’s required, your software should be telling you so, not waiting for you to figure it out.

See How You’re Doing

Once you’re data’s corralled, and your rules and policies are in place, you’ll need to be able to see how you’re doing. Is my team getting things done when they should? Are my customers (or members, or constituents, or my colleagues) satisfied? Is there something we need to do better?

Having your data in one place, and tracking what you’re doing, gives you the ability to see how you’re doing. Maybe your policies and rules need some tweaking. Maybe a team member needs some coaching. Maybe a customer needs some special attention. If you don’t have a system to keep track of what you’re doing, you’re stuck making guesses, or going from memory, or using your “gut”.

How Do We Do It?

So how can Extensitech help?

First, we offer a free online consultation. Spend some time with us discussing your organization, and the specific challenges you’re facing. We’ve helped dozens of businesses, some different than yours, perhaps some that are very much like your own.

Frankly, we may not already know a lot about your business. Even if we’ve worked with someone in your industry before, we wouldn’t presume that you’re a cookie-cutter copy. That’s okay, though; knowing your business is your job, and we want you to tell us about it.

What we do know a lot about is how to keep track. We can offer you advice based on years of experience, with all sorts of industries. We can tell you what’s worked, and what hasn’t, for other organizations. We can help you come up with a strategy for keeping track of your own business better, corralling your data, becoming more efficient and effective, and monitoring the results.

Sometimes, that’s all an organization needs: a fresh perspective and insight to get them back on track, or suggestions about software or practices that can help them meet their goals.

Many times, though, we can help you more. We can build you a custom-designed database solution, directly related to your goals and your practices. No more fighting with some “close enough” software, or hoping that everyone remembers what they need to do – we build software solutions that speak directly to what you’re trying to do, and to what makes your organization special.

Call us today, and let’s get started. The consultation is free, so you have nothing to lose, and plenty to gain. Let us help you take your business to the next level.